Saudi Aramco on Wednesday said it has completed the acquisition of Royal Dutch Shell’s 50 per cent stake in the Sasref refining joint venture for $631 million (Dh2.3 billion), taking complete ownership of the facility.
“The acquisition supports Saudi Aramco’s plan to increase the complexity and capacity of its refineries, as part of its long term downstream growth strategy,” the two companies said in a statement.
“For Shell, the sale is part of an ongoing effort integrating its refining portfolio with Shell Trading hubs and chemicals operations.”
The Sasref refinery at Jubail Industrial City has a capacity of 305,000 barrels per day, with its main products being liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil and sulphur.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporting company, has been making strategic shifts downstream as it looks to sell more products, especially in growing markets in Asia. It recently agreed to buy a 70 per cent stake in Sabic, the region’s biggest chemicals company.
The company is also investing overseas in the refining sector. Earlier this year, Saudi Aramco reached an agreement with Hyundai to acquire a 17 per cent stake in Oilbank, one of the South Korean conglomerate's subsidiaries, in a transaction valued at $1.25bn.
The oil giant is also partnering with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to jointly invest in India’s $44bn Ratnagiri refinery on the West Coast of India. It also plans to buy 20 per cent of India's Reliance Industries' oil-to-chemicals business for an enterprise value of $75bn.
On Saturday, two of Aramco’s facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais came under attack, knocking out more than half of the kingdom’s oil output. The kingdom's energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, said most of the country's capacity would be back online by the end of September.
Aramco reported a net profit of $46.9bn in the first half of 2019, down from $53 billion for the same period last year. Despite the profit decline, Aramco remains the world’s most profitable company.
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
more from Janine di Giovanni
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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